942

Enquiry about object: 942

    Your First Name (required)

    Your Last Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Country (required)

    Your Message

    Pair of Indian Princely Gold Thread Zardozi Court Shoes

    Northern India
    19th century

    length: 23.4cm; height: 9cm

    Sold

    Provenance

    UK art market

    – scroll down to see further images –

    Almost certainly made for an Indian maharaja or a close relative, this sumptuous pair of blue velvet shoes extravagantly embroidered with gold thread is of exceptional quality and condition. The shoes are soled and heeled with leather which show almost no wear – such shoes would not have been worn outside and would only ever have been used to walk over carpet. Indeed, as part of a princely costume, they are more designed to be seen in, for official functions and perhaps to be worn for official portraits and photographs.

    The shoes are densely embroidered over a blue velvet base with raised floral patterns in thick gold thread and gold spangles – the spangles are particularly fine and small in comparison with the larger examples encountered today. This type of work known in India as zardozi whereby raised gold embroidery was added to velvet, probably was introduced by the Portuguese. Many Indian royal houses commissioned zardozi embroiderers to embellish jackets, shoes, umbrellas and other articles with this work that were to be worn and used in the court. The zardozi embroiderers typically were Muslim men.

    Each shoe has a cut out bow applied. These too are finely edged with zardozi embroidery and decorated with a profuse overlay of tiny spangles almost giving the illusion of fish scales.

    Overall, these shoes are extraordinary for the fineness and density of the zardozi decoration but also for their almost pristine condition.

    References

    Arts of India, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001.

    Allen, C., Maharajas: Resonance from the Past, Mercury Books, 2005.

    Dozens of items are added to our website each month. Be among the first to know about them.
     
    Sign up to our monthly catalogue